http://slow.writerscafe.org/ClaudeDow The original writings of author Claude Dow en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1776294738 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 If mental illness were a person if it could grow legs and start wearing other people’s skin he wouldn’t just have it. He’d be it. He’d be standing right in front of you, and you’d feel the draft coming off his soul. The face shifting.I’ve seen him in three dif.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/ClaudeDow/3131456/ Here’s to you.Here’s to the person who stood in the fire and did not burn but forged themselves in the flame.Here’s to the one who traded grudges for grace, who swapped sorrow for clarity.Here’s to the strength that came not from avoiding the storm, but from learn.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/ClaudeDow/3122408/ Listen, girl. Sit down here. You think this is a gentle world? It ain't. It’s a tough land, and it doesn't care about your feelings.They'll tell you to forgive and forget. Forget? No. You never forget. You let the sting of it linger. That's the aftertaste that teaches you. That's the les.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/ClaudeDow/3094506/ He smiled at you across the kitchen table. It was a good smile, warm and easy. You saw the crinkles at the corners of his eyes, the way one tooth slightly overlapped the other. You’d seen that same smile in a film once, an old black-and-white thing, but you couldn’t remember which one... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/ClaudeDow/2974214/